NEWS

In Brief

ATHENS MAYHEM

Firebomb attack on embassy A group of some 80 youths attending a rock music festival in the Pedion tou Areos Park in central Athens on Saturday night for some unclear reason attacked the nearby Austrian Embassy on Alexandras Avenue with at least 30 petrol bombs. They also threw a Molotov cocktail at a passing car, whose driver managed to escape though his vehicle was destroyed. Another three parked cars were similarly despatched. Police shut down Alexandras and parts of Patission Avenue for hours but made no arrests. Underage dealer? A 13-year-old Albanian boy has been arrested along with his 32-year-old compatriot, Freddy Malka, by detectives in northern Greece for allegedly trying to sell four kilos of heroin to an undercover officer, police said yesterday. The arrest took place in Komninades, near the town of Kastoria. Wedding casualty A man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head, apparently accidentally, during a wedding party staged by Cretans in Attica early yesterday. Haridimos Manarolis, 24, was shot around 1.30 a.m. at the Nasjudjik estate near Spata on the eastern outskirts of Athens, a popular venue for up-market wedding parties. It is customary – but illegal – for gun-toting guests to fire celebratory shots into the air during Cretan weddings. Christodoulos Archbishop Christodoulos attacked what he called uncaring priests who show no concern for the wellbeing of their flock, during a sermon in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada late on Sunday. Speaking at the church of Aghia Triada, the head of the Church of Greece criticized «cold, unfeeling professionals in the Church who have forgotten their vocation. Priests must sacrifice themselves for the people,» he added. «There is no need for them to take advantage of the faithful.» Exams The results of this month’s secondary school end of term and university entrance exams will start to be made public by the Ministry of Education today. The full lists of university entrants are expected in early September. Airport accident Passengers on a state Olympic Airways flight from Stuttgart to Athens were delayed in Germany for over four hours yesterday after their Boeing 717 jet bumped into a private Cessna plane as it was preparing for take-off. Both aircraft suffered minor wing damage, but nobody was injured. Ferries Ferry services resumed on Saturday after the government ordered striking sailors back to work. As for political party leaders, the prime minister has lost support, with 43.5 percent in favor of him and 47.4 percent against. However, top of the popularity poll is still Left Coalition (SYN) leader Nikos Constantopoulos (56.7 percent in favor), followed by Karamanlis (54.5 percent), Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) party leader Dimitris Tsovolas (50.7 percent), Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga (29.5 percent) and Political Spring (POLA) party leader Antonis Samarras (25.7 percent).

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